Skip to main content

Falsely charged? Millat Times editor harassed, 'fringe' communal elements protected

By Abhay Kumar* 
Shams Tabrez Qasmi, the editor-in-chief of the multilingual digital media platform, ‘Millat Times’ and alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband, has been booked for tweeting videos of the communal clashes in Kanpur on June 3.
The Kanpur police on June 5 filed an FIR against Qasmi and seven others under IPC sections 505 (offence committed in a place of worship) and 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication), and section 66 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008.
Among the eight names mentioned in the FIR, seven, including Shams Tabrez Qasmi, belong to the Muslim community, and one is a Yadav.
Violence erupted in Kanpur after the Friday prayer on June 3. Members of two communities indulged in stone-throwing, following a call given to observe a strike in protest against the derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma on a national TV channel.
One of the videos that Qasmi shared on Twitter on Friday evening is of stone-throwing directed at the Muslims in the presence of the police.
“In the FIR, my name is mentioned. But I have not received any notice from the police”, 29-year-old Qasmi said over the phone.
Shams Tabrez Qasmi was born in 1993 in Raipur village (Nanpur Block) in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district on the India-Nepal border. His father, Zakir Hussain, is a farmer. From the backward region of north Bihar, Qasmi went to Darul Uloom Deoband, one of the most prestigious madrassas in India.
Apart from a degree in Maulvi, he also completed a diploma course in English from Deoband. He further studied Arabic, doing his graduation and postgraduation from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He also has an MA degree in Urdu from Maulana Azad Urdu University, Hyderabad.
He started his journalistic career by sending articles to Urdu newspapers. In 2016, he launched a news website, “Millat Times”. Two years later, he launched a YouTube channel, which became hugely popular. His reportage, analyses, and interviews were appreciated by a large number of viewers.
“Millat Times” has its office in the Jamia Nagar area in New Delhi. Gradually, “Millat Times” started publishing news and opinion pieces in three languages, that is Urdu, Hindi and English. The channel is closing in on the big milestone of a million subscribers. It has so far uploaded over four thousand videos.
One of the strengths of Shams Tabrez Qasmi lies in his proficiency in multiple languages, that is Urdu, Hindi, English and Arabic. Apart from his command of languages, he has also exhibited a good understanding of contemporary political and social issues.
While the mainstream media, particularly the news channels, have largely become the mouthpiece of the ruling establishment, the ordinary people, particularly those belonging to the marginalized sections, are looking for alternative platforms. ‘Millat Times’ is one such platform. Despite facing a lack of resources and infrastructure, Shams Tabrez Qasmi and his team have managed to raise several issues related to Muslims, Dalits and other marginalized communities.
I met Shams Tabrez Qasmi for the first time around three years ago. Some of my writings in Urdu have been published by ‘Millat Times’. On several occasions, he has invited me to his panel discussions. As an active member of the Press Club, he organizes programmes on issues related to the marginalized communities. Last year, he played an active role in holding a function on the great Urdu journalist Maulvi Mohammad Baqir at the Press Club, New Delhi. When the celebrations to mark two hundred years of Urdu journalism (1822-2022) were being held across the country, he, too, helped organize an event at the Press Club.
Since 2014, when the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power, attacks on religious minorities and historically marginalized communities have increased. The mainstream media has either ignored communal riots, mob-lynching, attacks on minorities and other marginalized sections, and misuse of power or reported on these incidents from the point of view of the ruling parties. In these difficult times, ‘Millat Times’ is one of the alternative media platforms to have carried on its fearless journalism.
Apart from reporting, Shams Tabrez Qasmi hosts a daily talk show “Desh Ke Sath” from Monday to Friday. This show has been widely appreciated for its focus on relevant public issues that the mainstream media tends to ignore.
It is unfortunate that the communal “fringe elements” are given protection by the government and its police, while a brave journalist exercising a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution is being harassed by falsely implicating him.
---
Independent journalist and writer, PhD (modern history) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Distributed by Dalits Media Watch, this article was first published in Forward Press

Comments

Anand said…

I know Shams Tabrez.
He is doing a fine job as a jurnalist
and is concerened about the unity of India.

It is a travesty of justice that young and bold individuals like
him shuld be harassed by the state.

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.